campus crusade for coffee

so tonight, one of the senior women in the program invited my american studies colleague and the new woman in her other department over for happy hour. i went along and enjoyed the company of the hosts and their dog. there were a lot of other women there, many of whom have had difficult times here ... either because of problems in their units or because of the difficulties of living in a rural location in a conservative state. the stories they could tell especially after several glasses of sangria.

this was not however the most worrying news of the day.

there is one coffee shop in town that i have taken a liking to. it's an independent and it feels comfortable in there. i had been a little tiny suspicious of some beaded necklaces that they sell near the register. i had even queried the cashiers and baristas in the past. but sheila confirmed this today: the proprietor and the employees are heavily involved and invested in campus crusade for christ.

i am dealing with a new kind of diversity here.